I think that an easy way to see if a function was running was to add a print statement whenever it becomes active.
print("I'm active")
Then when it should run you can look in the output box at the bottom (during and after running) to check to see if it's running.
You can also debug the game by clicking next to the numbers (left) in the script until a red box appears at the beginning and end of the function so it would close when it runs (deactivate same way as activate). If you know when it's running you won't need to check.
Unless you are trying something else and this is not relevant to you. Then my apologies.